Sentosa jazzes up WFH with interactive backgrounds

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Farzanah Farveen

07 April 2020

Working from home has now become the new norm, and the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has created Zoom backgrounds to add joy to work meetings. Now you can work from Sentosa, without actually leaving your house.

The backgrounds include an array of shots to showcase Sentosa's beaches, attraction sites such as the Madame Tussauds museum, as well as its iconic beach clubs. These interactive Zoom backgrounds can spice up a mundane day as everyone adjusts to working from home, and was done in partnership with its creative agency BBH Singapore.

In a statement to Marketing, Lynette Ang, chief marketing officer at SDC said as Singapore stays home during this period, the organisation wanted to liven up online conversations and spark meaningful connections amongst colleagues, friends and families, even as all adhere to important safe distancing measures.

“With Zoom being a popular application for video calls, we saw the potential for us to lighten the mood through its customisable backgrounds. It is our way of reminding guests to make time for one another, including ‘enjoying’ Sentosa in the comfort of their own homes,” she added.

According to Ang, as part of SDC’s effort to liven up conversations, netizens will be rewarded to a pair of Sentosa Fun Passes by posting on Facebook a picture or video of themselves against any of the 10 interactive backgrounds.

These virtual backgrounds come hot in heels of Audi's specially curated images to serve as a backdrop during video conferencing, allowing fans to enjoy the thrill of the road while working from home. According to Audi, new images will be released periodically on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. Meanwhile, Zoom also launched free virtual background for consumers who wish to just slap on a nice video background while taking meetings from their messy living room. The virtual backgrounds include a neat reading space, shots of iconic tourist locations, as well as calming scenery.

Most recently, SDC very creatively jumped into the chatter about governments putting controls around movements and social distancing, with a social media post. Created by BBH Singapore, Sentosa encouraged people glued to their phones to allow for "social media distancing" just metres apart from the the sea, with sand between their toes. Meanwhile, jumping on the conversation around tighter border controls, Sentosa also published an ad saying its Sentosa's borders are still open with a picture of its tranquil waters.

Most recently Zoom’s chief executive apologised for "falling short" on security issues, and added that the use of the platform grew exponentially in light of the current pandemic.

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